OAA’s mission is to create a deeper appreciation of some of the most wondrous, yet fragile, ecosystems on our planet.

David Hannan evaluating new filming gear, Palawan, 2012.

David Hannan -
Underwater Cinematography

Passionate about all things marine, David Hannan works as a filmmaker, photographer, artist, educator, speaker and conservationist. In the water with a camera since age 14, he has over the decades won international acclaim for his startlingly beautiful underwater images of tropical coral reefs and other remote realms shown in screen productions of all kinds.

With his company Plankton Productions he has created a visual record of tropical and temperate marine environments all around Australia, set up a base for filming expeditions in Papua New Guinea, voyaged beyond Antarctica and established Ocean Ark Alliance, a new not-for-profit organisation. Read more here...

David Hannan's All New Edition of Coral Sea Dreaming

After many years dedicated to filming and editing underwater scenes in High Definition, a brand-new edition of David Hannan's classic underwater masterpiece is coming out now -- 20 years since the release of his original, best-selling home video.

Over 84 extraordinary minutes, Coral Sea Dreaming - A Celebration of Reefs enters into the very heart of life – and death – on a coral reef. It's a story that spans 500 million years and stars some of the most exotic, wondrous marine creatures on earth.

Corals are the planets greatest natural architects, and coral reefs host the highest biodiversity in any ecosystem. Emmy Award-winning cinematographer David Hannan has filmed and edited over nearly 10 years in order to create this magnificent testimony to our extraordinary undersea world. The program features an original score by Tania Rose.

Many of the sequences have never been filmed before. Some may never be filmed again. Corals have survived 5 mass extinctions. But can they survive us?

Filmed during more than 2000 dives on three great coral reef ecosystems; The Great Barrier Reef, Ningaloo Reef and mysterious Papua New Guinea, Coral Sea Dreaming is a Celebration of Reefs -- all now threatened by climate change and ocean acidification. There is much that needs to be done in order to safe-guard these precious ecosystems for future generations... and very little time to do it.

David Hannan is renowned not only for his filmmaking, but also for the conservation impetus that is activated by his films. It's the driving force behind his work and his inspiration to establish Ocean Ark Alliance.